Last Morning

Last morning at the Ranch before we head East. The laundry is running, the cappacino has reached the bottom of the cup and the rooster is crowing. The sun is rising here into a cloudy sky and the cool weather of fall has finally reached us, changing all the deciduous trees into bright yellow and oranges around us.

We will miss all of these things while we are gone. But the anticipation of Christmas cheer with our other family, the Jansens brings joy to our hearts. As I lay in bed this morning anticipating our return there, I thought of the little things I love about my family: my dad's chuckle when he laughs, my mom's tiny hug, my sister's ferocious activity, Brett's happy-go-lucky piano jingles, and Peter's famous slouch and zippy sarcasm. There are many other things Travis and I look forward to, like conversations without phones or interruptions and memories to be revisited from our times together out East. We also look forward to all the new memories we want to make.

As I sit here facing the slowly dying grassy backyard and listen to my ornery rooster going at it again, I rejoice in my heart that He has blessed me with so much. Travis and I are the recipients of so much in this one year-- jobs, new job for Travis, generous family and friends, new friends whom we've built our lives with, a spacious house furnished to comfort, many chickens, many stories and much laughter. One of our greatest joys has been that we are more in love with eachother than we were one year ago. As we depart we realize that we head to a place where we were married. It stirs up the expected nostalgia, but it also makes us realize how much we've changed and grown in our first year of marriage. We are so grateful for all God has given us. It is certainly true that God has crowned the year with overflowing bounty.

And to top it all off... my two hens-- old faithful Tina and her daughter-- are laying again. We're counting these eggs in our very full basket.